The present invention relates to vehicle-mounted sports equipment racks. More particularly, it provides a sports equipment rack that may be quickly and easily mounted in a pickup truck bed adjacent the tailgate of the truck.
The transportation of sports equipment, such as bicycles, on a pickup truck poses unique problems not encountered when transporting sports equipment on other automobiles. Generally, some sort of rack system, such as a roof rack, is used when carrying bicycles on most automobiles. Roof rack systems typically employ two crossbars that are mounted across the roof of a vehicle to provide at least two secure points of attachment for mounting a bicycle to the vehicle. However, these systems are often not suited for use with pickup trucks. For example, many of these systems require the automobile to have a fairly long roofline so that the crossbars are spread for enough apart to allow the bike fork to be mounted to one bar and the rear wheel to the other. Pickup trucks often have too short a roofline for this type of rack. Second, the height of the roof of many pickup trucks may make it difficult both to attach a rack to the roof and to mount equipment on a rack attached to the roof.
Instead of using a roof rack, a pickup truck owner may choose to transport a bicycle loose in the bed of the truck. However, this method has several drawbacks. First, there is a danger that the bicycle may be ejected from the back of the vehicle under some driving conditions. Second, a loose bicycle may damage the truck bed, or may be damaged itself, by sliding or bouncing around in the truck bed during transport. Third, when carrying more than one bike, the bikes must often be laid on their sides at least partially on top of one another in the truck bed. This arrangement can cause damage to both bikes as the bikes slide around or bump each other while in transport. Thus, it is better to secure the bikes in the bed than to leave them loose. One solution is to tie or strap the bikes into the truck using tie-downs that are often standard equipment on pickup trucks. However, the bikes still must generally be laid on their sides in the truck bed, leading to the possibility that the bikes may scratch or damage the truck bed or each other during transport. Furthermore, it can be difficult to strap or tie the bikes in tightly enough to ensure they will not move when the truck changes speed or direction.
A second solution is to use a rack system designed to be mounted in a truck bed. Several different types of racks made for mounting in pickup truck beds are known. For example, one type requires special mounts to be bolted into the truck bed to which an ordinary roof rack may be mounted. Another type has equipment mounts that may be directly bolted to the truck. Both of these types of racks require holes to be drilled into a truck bed to mount the rack. Thus, these types of racks may not appeal to some truck owners, as drilling holes into the truck bed may require some time and expertise, and may lower the value of the truck. Moreover, once the mounts are bolted to the truck, they may be difficult to remove or reinstall.
Another type of pickup truck bed rack system consists of a strap or crossbar tensioned between the rails of a pickup truck bed to which bicycles may be mounted. This type of rack has several drawbacks. First, the racks are braced only against the sides of the truck bed. Thus, they may shift forward or backward when the truck decelerates or accelerates. Second, only the tension of the crossbar or strap between the side rails secures the racks to the truck. If the tensioning system loosens or fails, the crossbar or strap may come loose from the truck, possibly resulting in damage to the bicycles or the truck.
Other pickup truck rack designs balance the bicycles on the truck rails or hang the bike off of the tailgate outside of the truck bed. These designs are limited in the number of bikes they may hold, and do not place the bikes within the protective confines of the truck bed. Moreover, some of these designs require holes to be drilled into the truck body.
Therefore, there remains a need for a sports equipment rack for a pickup truck bed that may be quickly and securely mounted in the bed.